Ordinary Waiting Period (OWP) 106-05020010

The OWP generally begins on the customer's start date.

If the customer is subject to another waiting or preclusion period, the OWP starts after the other waiting or preclusion period has ended, except the Income Maintenance Period (IMP) in certain circumstances.

For more details, see Interaction between waiting and preclusion periods.

Customers:

• with a statement reporting requirement will need to report all employment income paid in the fortnight in their first report
• granted without a statement reporting requirement must declare what they have been paid during the OWP within 14 days of the income being paid

The decision about whether a customer meets the requirements for an exemption from the OWP must be made when processing the new claim.

If a claim for YA (student) has a future start date and the customer requests to transfer to YA (job seeker) before that start date, they will be required to serve the OWP before YA (job seeker) payment can start. Note: YA (student) is not subject to the OWP.

If a YA (student) customer in receipt of payment in the last 13 weeks is transferring or reclaiming YA (job seeker), the usual exemption applies (see below).

When a YA (job seeker) claim is granted with an OWP, but the customer requests to transfer to YA (student) and qualifies for YA (student) before the OWP being fully served, the YA (job seeker) claim must be rejected and all information transferred to YA (student). See Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Australian Apprentice returning to full-time study.

A customer is not subject to an OWP if they are reclaiming within 13 weeks of last receiving a social security benefit or allowance. This period must be calculated from the date the customer last received a benefit or allowance of greater than zero dollars ($0). This may be an earlier date than the benefit/allowance calculation date.

A customer may be exempt from an OWP if any one of the following circumstances exist:

• The customer is reclaiming within 13 weeks of last receiving a social security income support payment, which covers:
• Age Pension
• Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
• Austudy payment
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension
• Farm Household Allowance
• Income Support Supplement (DVA)
• JobSeeker Payment
• Parenting Payment Partnered
• Parenting Payment Single
• Partner Allowance
• Service Pension (DVA)
• Special Benefit
• Veteran Payment (DVA)
• Widow Allowance
• Youth Allowance

Note: even though Parental Leave Pay (PPL) is not deemed to be social security income support payments, the Department of Social Services (DSS) have determined that customers who return to payment after receiving PPL are not subject to an OWP if they are reclaiming within 13 weeks.

ABSTUDY is not deemed to be a social security benefit or allowance, a social security pension or service pension under the current SSAct

• The customer is undertaking any of the following at the time of claiming an income support payment:
• an activity as part of Disability Employment Services (DES), or
• an activity as part of the Community Development Program (CDP) and have been assessed via an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) as eligible for DES
• Recently widowed customers claiming JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or YA within a bereavement period will have an Bereavement Waiting Period exemption and will be auto exempt from the OWP where:
• the claim is submitted within 14 weeks of their partner's date of death, or
• if pregnant at the time of their loss, the claim is submitted before the birth of the child/end of the pregnancy

In most cases, eligibility for an exemption will be automatically identified and granted by the system. The exemption will apply from the claim start date and does not include any other waiting or preclusion periods (for example, the start date payment would have started if no other waiting or preclusion periods applied).

If an exemption is not given, the waiting period should be applied, unless a waiver is being considered.

The waiver reason 'unavoidable or reasonable expenditure' (RUE) will be used for this circumstance.

The OWP can be waived in full where the customer is experiencing a personal financial crisis. The waiver will apply from the claim start date and does not include any other waiting or preclusion periods. This is the start date payment would have started if no other waiting or preclusion periods applied.

The customer is considered to be experiencing a personal financial crisis when they:

• are in severe financial hardship, and
• are experiencing, or have experienced, one of the following circumstances in the past 4 weeks:
• has incurred unavoidable or reasonable expenditure
• the customer was subjected to domestic or family violence
• was in prison or psychiatric confinement
• first entered Australia and was the holder of a qualifying humanitarian visa on that entry to Australia, or
• the customer's principal place of residence was lost or sustained major damage as a result of an extreme circumstance. To qualify for an OWP waiver, the customer does not need to have left the home, or intend to establish a new home

The 'past 4 weeks' refers to the 4 weeks just before the customer's start date, not the claim processing date. For example:

• A claim subject to backdating provisions is processed on 20 April but will be backdated to a start date of 9 April. The 4 week period will be applied from 12 March to 9 April (the customer's start date
• A claim with a future start date is processed on 30 April with a start date of 25 May. The 4 week period will apply from 27 April until 25 May (the customer's start date)

If the 4 week period encompasses future dates, it is the customer's responsibility to inform Services Australia of any change to their circumstance during this time that could result in the waiver of the OWP.

For this assessment, the start date does not include any other waiting or preclusion periods. The start date is the date the payment would have started if no other waiting or preclusion periods applied. For example, if there is also a Liquid Assets Waiting Period (LAWP) to be served, the 4 weeks will be counted back from the claim start date, not from the LAWP end date.

• For JSP, PPP, PPS, and YA (job seeker) customers - the OWP can be waived at any time between the time the claim is lodged and the day the waiting period has been served. Evidence is required before a waiver is considered. It is essential that all suitable evidence is scanned to the customer record and that the reason for the waiver is recorded in the new claim DOC as this is a significant decision
• For incapacitated JSP, PP, and YAL - these customers may be eligible for a 5 week backdating provision. The OWP can be waived at any time from the date claim was lodged; or while serving the waiting period. If their claim is being backdated the OWP can be waived for a previous period within the 5 weeks of initial contact. The Service Officer must confirm the customer's financial circumstances back to the period in question

A customer is eligible for a waiver of the OWP if they are in severe financial hardship because they have incurred unavoidable or reasonable expenditure in the 4 weeks prior to the customers start date. The intent of the waiver provision is to make sure that customers in hardship, who may be vulnerable, are not placed in further hardship through a waiting period.

The list of unavoidable or reasonable expenditure is not exhaustive. Other expenses which are considered to be unavoidable or reasonable may also be included in the assessment.

Unavoidable or reasonable expenditure may include any of the expense types, either in isolation or in combination. For example, a customer may qualify for a waiver if they provide sufficient evidence of reasonable costs of living (receipts for rent, bills or food) in the 4 weeks prior to the customer's start date. The customer does not need to have spent a specific amount, or up to a certain threshold in the 4 weeks prior to the customer's start date in order to qualify for a waiver.

For waiver because of unavoidable or reasonable expenditure to be considered, the customer must provide evidence of the expenditure. This must have occurred in the 4 weeks prior to the customer's start date and resulted in them being in severe financial hardship (for example, receipts). This includes expenses for reasonable costs of living. It is not sufficient to only provide evidence of severe financial hardship (for example, bank account balances). The customer must also provide evidence of available funds at the beginning of the 4 weeks prior to the customer's start date to prove the funds have reduced.

The customer does not have to be eligible for Crisis Payment in order to have the OWP waived. The customer is not required to have left the home or have the intent to leave the home for the purposes of the OWP waiver (unlike Crisis Payment). This waiver provision does not apply to alleged, or actual, perpetrators of domestic violence. See Family and domestic violence.

The waiver reason Personal Financial Crisis- Other (PFO) will be used for this circumstance.

Customers qualify for an OWP waiver if they are in severe financial hardship and have been released from prison, a police cell, watch house, psychiatric confinement or youth justice centre. No minimum period of time in prison or psychiatric confinement applies. Psychiatric confinement does not have to be in relation to committing an offence. Evidence of severe financial hardship must be provided before a waiver can be considered.

The waiver reason Personal Financial Crisis- Other (PFO) will be used for this circumstance.

The customer first arrived in Australia with a qualifying visa in the 4 weeks immediately prior to the claim start date. Qualifying visa subclasses are:

• 200 - Refugee
• 201 - In-country Special Humanitarian Program
• 202 - Global Special Humanitarian Program
• 203 - Emergency Rescue
• 204 - Woman at Risk

The waiver reason Personal Financial Crisis - Other (PFO) will be used for this circumstance.

Eligibility for disaster relief has no bearing on their eligibility for the OWP waiver.

The waiver must not be applied unless evidence is obtained to indicate there is a reasonable possibility the customer satisfies the circumstances.

Consider individual situations on a case-by-case basis. For example, what may be considered unavoidable or reasonable expenditure for one person with a particular set of circumstances may not be applicable in another person's case.

If the customer is unable to provide evidence due to extenuating circumstances such as unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) or homelessness, a written notice from a social worker or a documented assessment from a suitably trained Centrelink specialist officer may be accepted in lieu of this.

Severe financial hardship occurs when:

• a single person has liquid assets less than 2 weeks' allowance at the maximum payment rate that would be payable to the person if the ordinary waiting period did not apply, or
• a member of a couple have liquid assets less than twice the amount of 2 weeks' allowance at the maximum payment rate that would be payable to the person if the ordinary waiting period did not apply

If the waiting period is to be waived, it may be necessary to look at the option of paying a hardship advance so the customer has sufficient funds until their next pay period.

Severe financial hardship can be confirmed with the following evidence:

• bank statement covering the period from the date ceased work or previous circumstances, until the date of claim current at the date of claim, and
• evidence of other liquid assets if appropriate